Foods to Boost Your Mood

Source: http://www.helpfordepression.com

A typical rushed Monday morning: You get up late, skip breakfast, rush to work, down 2-3 cups of coffee, have a late lunch, gulp chips or biscuits with more coffee, get home totally drained and in a mood that could make anyone feel weary of you.

A happy energetic Monday morning: Get up early, exercise, have a balanced and tasty breakfast, a cup of coffee at work, snack on some nuts, have a healthy lunch, snack on a fruit and have some tea, cook up a yummy but tasty dinner and sleep on time with the satisfaction of a day well spent.

You already know what an ideal day should be like. But how many of us manage to stick to it? What can be done to boost energy and mood through the day so that one isn’t at the crabbiest best or completely exhausted at the end of the day? Try these tips:

Smart carbs at breakfast. Clichéd as it might may sound, a hearty breakfast of whole grains, a lean protein (eggs), some good fats and fresh produce has been proven time and again to do wonders to your energy levels. No point avoiding carbohydrates, as whole grains and cereal products contain tryptophan, which produces a good-mood chemical (serotonin) in the body. So tuck into that poha, muesli, whole grain toast or paratha.

The Omega-3 factor. What is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids? Fish. Walnuts and flaxseeds are also good vegetarian sources of the same. In fact, one teaspoon of flaxseeds consumed per day goes a long way in keeping you and your body happy. If your diet consists of all three – fish, walnuts and flaxseeds, you are well protected against depression.

A Dose of Vitamin D. There are two ways of getting Vitamin D. Get out in the sun, preferably early in the morning (to avoid UV ray damage to your skin). Your body produces vitamin D from the sunlight that it is exposed to through your skin. Or else, consume more seafood (salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines), egg yolks, milk products fortified with Vitamin D or fortified breakfast cereals. Vitamin D is known to affect serotonin levels in the body.

Nuts about you. Cashew, Almond and hazelnut are good sources of proteins and magnesium. Magnesium plays a key role in energy management from the sugar that we consume every day. If you are low on magnesium, you will feel low and lethargic.

Don’t Miss Folic Acid and Vitamin B 12. Vitamin B 12 is the new Omega-3, these days. Almost every other person is diagnosed with a B-12 deficiency and ends up taking supplements or injections. Why? Because our diet is seriously deficient in green leafy vegetables, dairy products and lean meat. Another resultant deficiency is that of folic acid (found in fresh produce, whole grains and dairy products). Heard of the Mediterranean diet and its benefits? It is replete with B complex vitamins and B-12.

Some Tea Please. Drinking a cup of tea is a worldwide practice to rejuvenate oneself. The caffeine that one gets from tea (much less than that in coffee) helps lift the mood. The flavonoids also have other protective health benefits. Have a cuppa!

Water, water everywhere? This might seem simple but is often the most difficult components to manage, especially when you are rushing to meet a deadline or running after a toddler. An easy way to monitor your daily water intake is to keep two separate one litre bottles for yourself. Once you finish those, you know you are halfway done. For the other half, eat as much fresh fruit as you can and drink up unsweetened naturally sweet drinks like coconut water, fresh juices or even chhaas or nimbu paani.

Apart from foods, one can’t skip exercise. Even a regular 20 minutes every day will keep you energised through the day. It will also help you to regulate your body weight as studies show that people who steadily lose weight over time feel more energetic than crash dieters. These seven may not be secrets, but are a must to keep you in high spirits at the beginning and end of every day!

This post first appeared on the fleximoms blog on Thursday, 13 June 2013.

Work Through Your Pregnancy

This post first appeared on the fleximoms blog on Thursday, 23 May 2013.

“Oh, you are pregnant?! How will you look after your health and continue to work now?” Most pregnant working women must have had to face this question at least once during their pregnancy. It’s surprising that one of the most natural physiological states, pregnancy, is often considered more like an illness. If one takes care, it is possible to work your way to a healthy childbirth (unless otherwise stated by your doctor).

Nausea and vomiting are often de rigueur with pregnancy. How to avoid that at work? Say no to coffee. Switch to a glass of juice or milk instead. Drink a lot of water – you are more likely to throw up if your body is dehydrated. Keep snacking on things like digestive biscuits, rusk, toast, fruits. During early pregnancy, I was at a conference in Delhi and all I did was go to the loo and throw up. The air-conditioning in the room (no fresh air), combined with the stress of an early morning flight, was the trigger. I thought my food poisoning excuse was working, but everyone had already concluded that I was pregnant.

That brings me to the next point: Tell your boss. Sooner or later your boss and colleagues are going to figure out that you are pregnant. It makes sense to tell them by the second trimester as that will help them plan your work accordingly. In order to safely continue working when pregnant, it is very important to be in a stress-free environment. Stress is not only physical but also mental. If your job is physically demanding, check with your doctor. Frequent late nights at work and a happy pregnancy don’t go hand in hand. Lack of sufficient sleep is another reason that could make you feel antsy.

While some women seem tired all through their pregnancy, others thrive on new-found energy. Whatever be the case, it is very important to slow down a bit as your body is going through major hormonal and physiological changes. Eat foods rich in iron and protein like red meat, poultry, leafy green vegetables, dairy products and whole-grain food items. This will give you extra energy. Take a break every 45 minutes and walk around your office. Long hours at the computer have not been established to harm the baby, but they almost always involves postural harm to the body. This occurs more for pregnant women as pregnancy by itself changes your posture. Make sure you are comfortable, using small and big cushions. Keep a box or a small stool under your feet so that your ankles don’t get swollen.

It is critical to stick to your meal timings and have at least five meals per day, when pregnant. Leave after a good breakfast, snack on fruit or something healthy (dry fruits or lentil salads) while colleagues have coffee. About two and half hours after lunch, go out for a 15-minute walk. A small snack after that (at a clean and hygienic food outlet) is ideal. Stay away from oily or deep-fried foods as they might kill your appetite for dinner. Try to sleep early as you need about eight to nine hours of sleep every day. Exercise regularly – walk, take a class and practice relaxation and breathing techniques whenever you feel worked up or stressed.

In case you don’t feel up to managing the rigours of commuting to work and going through an entire workday, discuss that with your boss. You could be able to devise a work-from-home or a part-time schedule. Remember that you, your doctor and your boss are a team who have to together decide the best plan for you to keep working in a way that’s healthy for your pregnancy.

Baked Eggs | Easy Healthy Breakfast and a mention in Mumbai Mirror

Easy and Healthy Baked Eggs

Baked eggs is an ideal Sunday breakfast- one where you have the time to savor the moreish combination of gooey eggs, fresh vegetables, cheese and herbs and some warm toast. In our family M and his sister Sharvari are the only fans of gooey eggs. While I like eggs well cooked, I am not immune to the food fancy of beautiful oozing eggs. So I treated M to this easy and healthy breakfast on Sunday while I tucked into my good ol’ masala omlette and toast. The beauty of baked eggs is- you can make it as healthy or sinful as the ingredients you have on hand. I used some capsicum and carrot and 1 cube processed cheese. But you could easily add in some oomph by using cream, cheddar, red chillies, chilli flakes or even mozzarella.

You will need:

2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 green capsicum, chopped
1/2 carrot, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped (I did not add this, as M does not like onions with his eggs; but this will surely make it even more tastier- in my humble opinion)
1 cube Amul processed cheese, grated
1 tsp mixed herbs
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- In a small baking dish, add the chopped veggies, cheese, salt and pepper, herbs and other seasoning (if required). Mix it well. Then break two eggs over the vegetable mix taking care that the yolk does not break.
- Put this dish into the oven and bake for 15-20 mins depending on how well done or oozy you want the eggs to be.
- Serve with hot toast and a tall glass of cold milk or juice.

In other news, yours truly has been featured in an article on ‘sugar addiction’ in the Mumbai Mirror and Times of India website- thanks to my friend Teja Lele Desai.

You can read the article here- Lakhs of Indians becoming sugar dependent

Recipe | Eggless Wholemeal Vanilla Cake

Eggless wholemeal vanilla cake

The quest for eggless recipes continues. I tried this eggless vanilla cake from Marias Menu when I want to bake a cake for my paternal grandmom. She loves cakes but does not eat eggs. I was pleasantly surprised at the beautiful crumb this cake had. As things usually go, I cannot leave anything completely white, so I added some wholemeal flour to it and still the cake turned out light and moist. Just remember that the recipe makes a really large cake, so use your largest cake pan.

Recipe adapted from Marias Menu.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp Soda Bicarbonate
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 cups Powdered Sugar
100 g salted Butter (1/2 cup), softened
1 cup, room temp Natural Yogurt
1/2 cup Hot Milk
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence

Method:

- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease and dust with flour a 12 inch cake pan.
- In a food processor, mix the butter, sugar, yogurt, milk and vanilla essence.
- Add in the flours, soda bicarb and the baking powder.
- Mix well till combined, pour out into the prepared cake pan and bake for 40-50 mins till a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

This cake is not overtly sweet despite the two cups of powdered sugar, so would do well with a frosting for a birthday cake too!

Quick Recipe | Aparna Patil’s Prawn Sukka

Aparna Patil’s prawn sukka

This prawn sukka with potatoes and a slight tang of kokum is what my dear friend Aparna Patil used to bring in her lunch box at one of my previous work places. It will not come as a surprise to you that I used to be the primary consumer of her lunch and would shamelessly gorge on the prawns while neglecting my own lunch box or just happily giving it off to others. Till date this remains my favorite way of stir frying prawns when making it as an accompaniment to phulkas. Thank you Aparna!

The recipe here is an almost clone of what she used to bring. Do give it a try.

You will need:

1 cup small prawns, deveined
1 potato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 pieces of kokum
1 small tomato, chopped (optional)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp turmeric
2 green chillies, chopped
2 tbsp water
salt to taste
Chopped coriander for garnishing

Method:

- In a pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds, ginger garlic paste, chillies and turmeric.
- Next add the onions (and tomatoes if adding, I skipped on it) and fry it a bit. Now add in the potatoes with a wee bit of water, cover and cook till the potatoes are done.
- Now add the prawns, kokum and salt and cover and cook till the prawns are just done.
- Garnish with coriander and eat with hot phulkas.

Taming the yeast beast??!! :)

Herbed wholemeal pull apart rolls made using the recipe from the divinetaste blog

Mixed Herbs and Garlic Focaccia

Mixed Herbs and Garlic focaccia

Wholewheat Focaccia

Whole Wheat Focaccia

Cheesy Salsa Spirals (pardon the garish background to the image)

Wholewheat Bread

A whole lot of my family and friends are surprised (a bit shocked and skeptical too) to hear that I bake bread at home. I think that’s because of this fear of the unknown – the yeast. Most people are pretty comfortable with baking powder and baking soda, but mention yeast and their enthusiasm disappears. I can’t think of any reason why this should happen cause for me, bread baking is even more therapeutic and guilt free than the cakes and cookies. It is healthy, it is wholesome and free from additives, chemicals that commercial bread contains and yes, did I mention way more tasty too? There are so many wonderful bloggers who have been baking bread since much longer than I have, and they have also compiled some yeast FAQs and guidelines for new bread bakers like you and me. So here I am, sharing those with you and inviting you to join me on my journey of taming the yeast beast and baking some delicious homemade bread.

The most concise and precise article on yeast available on the web by the cook’s illustrated mag.

Blogger Suma Rowjee explains all that you need to know about yeast.

I have graduated from using active dry yeast to instant yeast as it gives much better results and in lesser time. I almost always try to incorporate wholemeal flour or wheat bran in my bread and use oil instead of butter while kneading. Earlier I used to knead the dough only by hand, but now with a toddler’s demand on my time, I first combine the bread dough in the food processor and then give it a finish by kneading it by hand on my kitchen counter. I prefer to cover the dough with cling film (or even a big plastic bag, when I had run out of cling film) instead of a damp muslin cloth as it makes less cleaning up. Brushing the proofed dough/rolls with egg wash gives the crust that beautiful shine and color but brushing with some olive oil once the bread is baked also works almost fine.

Hope that will encourage you to try baking some bread.

Happy baking!

Recipe| Orange Marmalade

Homemade Orange Marmalade

Another item ticked off my ‘new stuff to make this year’ list. I have a weakness for good marmalade. I am not a big fan of jams, but the fruit pieces especially the citrus peel, in a marmalade is just too delicious! When I got about hunting a (easy, quick) recipe for an orange marmalade, I came across various methods- boiling the entire fruit to extract pectin, adding chemical pectin, soaking the fruit overnight etc. But the one on this amazing cook’s site, seemed most convincing and well illustrated with step by step pictures.

I have largely followed Elise’s recipe for seville orange marmalade, making just a few changes to suit what was available and well.. some just happened coz I had not read the recipe properly. But thankfully it did not affect the end result and I got a delicious citrus-y all natural (without any ugh preservative flavors) orange marmalade.

You will need:

1 kg valencia oranges ( I had 5 nos.)
1 cup of water
2 and half cups of sugar
Juice of 1 small lemon

Method (do check out the recipe on the simplyrecipes blog for amazing pictures, they really help):

- Juice the oranges on a juicer. From the half orange cups that you will get after extracting the juice, remove the pith and pulpy remains with a spoon or a butter knife.
- Tie the seeds, pulpy and pith remains in a muslin cloth and keep aside.
- Julienne orange peels as thin as possible. Check that you use only the good peel. Discard the bits that have dark spots or green areas.
- In a very large pot (this is important, get the largest non-aluminium pot available), add the juice, water, peel and the muslin bag with the seeds and pulp. I used a large stainless steel vessel. Ensure that the muslin bag is very securely tied, otherwise you will end up with bits of seeds and pulp in your marmalade.
- Boil this mixture on a high flame for about 30 minutes or till the peels are cooked.
- Then remove the muslin cloth bag from the fruit mixture and add in the sugar and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil and constantly keep stirring with a wooden spoon so that the mixture does not stick to the bottom.
- Keep some plates in the freezer to chill.
- Once the marmalade starts thickening, you will need to keep testing it for its done point- the way we did for the apple jam. To test the marmalade, drop a bit of it on a cold cold plate, let it cool. If it is runny, then you need to cook it some more. If it sets and crinkles up a bit when you nudge it a bit with your finger, its done.
- If you intend to store it for a long time, then let it cool for a wee bit and then pour it out in sterilized hard glass bottles. Close the lid while hot to create a vacuum seal. If you and your family is like ours, then it wont last too long anyway, so you need not bother much.
- Bring out the toast and enjoy the orange-y goodness.

Happy healthy eating!

Warning: This is a long and tiring recipe, albeit with fruitful (pun intended) results. Don’t be like me, if you have a demanding toddler, then don’t attempt this unless there is someone to look after your baby for a good three hours and ensure that you don’t have to enter the kitchen to cook anything after this for atleast a couple of hours. I am not trying to scare you off, but it may seem easy but even juicing oranges thoroughly takes quite a bit of time.